Environment Tasmania, the state’s peak environment body, has described negotiated amendments to the already flawed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) as unacceptable and a great disservice to every person who voted for Kevin Rudd because they wanted real action on climate change.

“Australian’s have the right to be furious with the Rudd Government today over the dirty deal with the opposition to further weaken an already inadequate CPRS” said Environment Tasmania’s climate change spokesperson Jess Wright.

“The community voted for Rudd expecting real climate action. Instead we’ve got an emissions trading scheme which will fail to deliver the critical reduction in greenhouse gas emissions the climate requires, while giving billions of dollars of tax-payer’s money to the big polluters to keep on polluting.”

“The notion that the CPRS needs to passed before Copenhagen is nothing but a façade. Australia’s contribution to global climate action should not be a dysfunctional emissions trading scheme.”

“The best thing Rudd can do toward helping the world secure a meaningful global agreement is to take a science-based target of 40% emissions reductions to Copenhagen and outline the immediate steps Australia will be taking to reach this target.”

“This is what Copenhagen needs and this is what the Australian people elected him to do” said Jess Wright.